Jeremy
by ismisesarah
Summary: She hadn't realised what had been missing from her life until she had gazed down at the little pink face of her son and felt him take her finger in his tiny fist.


Jeremy Atticus Finch.

If Jean thought she'd been in love before she was quickly coming to realise she'd been sorely mistaken. Until the little bundle that was her son had been placed in her arms, she hadn't realised what it meant to love so fiercely or so unconditionally. Jean hadn't realised what had been missing from her life until she gazed down at the little pink face of her son and felt him take her finger in his tiny fist. From the very first moment her brown eyes had locked with his newborn blue ones, she knew that she was in love with her son, that she would lay down her life for him if the situation arose, and that he was the most perfect baby she had ever set eyes upon.

And he was all hers.

Little Jeremy had captured the heart of his mother from the very first moment, and Jean quickly found that she never wanted to let him out of her sight. It had taken Atticus close to a month to convince her to move Jem from the bassinette in their room to the nursery that had been prepared especially for him. Jean had fretted and worried from the very first time he mentioned it. What if Jem woke up crying in the middle of the night? What if something happened and neither of them heard him? What if he was scared of being in a room on his own? He was still so little.

"Honey, he'll be _fine."_ Atticus had said repeatedly. "We'll keep the doors open, and you're a light sleeper as it is. If I don't hear him, you will." He had kissed her forehead in reassurance.

After much of her husband's reasoning, Jean had finally caved and let Jem be moved into his nursery. As it turned out, Atticus was right as always and Jem was more than content sleeping on his own. Their son woke only occasionally during the night demanding to be fed or simply be held by one of his parents, and there had yet to be a time where Jean or Atticus didn't hear him.

Jem's birth had also brought a change over Atticus and he was completely enamoured with his son. Jean noticed how he became more relaxed and seemed to permanently be in a good mood. He would bounce Jem on his knee while Jean helped Cal clean up after supper, throw him in the air much to Jem's delight and Jean's horror, and, in the weeks following Jean's heart attack after Jem's birth, he would diligently feed him and go to him when he awoke screaming during the night. Jean found that she fell a little bit more in love with her husband with each day that passed, and adored watching his interactions with their son. He doted on her and Jem, and Jean had never been happier to be his wife.

When the time came for Atticus to return to the office once Jean had made a full recovery and Jem was just over a month old, he dithered and dallied for so long in the kitchen that Jean had jokingly told him she'd drag him downtown by the ear.

"Atticus, we'll be fine. _I'm_ fine, and Cal's here to keep an eye on me and look after Jem if I need to lie down. We're in good hands, I promise. If you keep worrying like that you'll go grey and then I'll have to divorce you," she teased him after breakfast as he continued to hover in their bedroom.

"Mrs Finch, are you saying that you only married me for my dashing good looks?" He asked in mock outrage, approaching her and wrapping his arms around her. "No, honey, I'm not worried about you or Jem...actually, that's a lie I'm always going to be worried about you both." He said, and Jean felt him inhale deeply. "I'll miss him, Jeannie."

Jean wrapped her own arms around him and gave him a squeeze. He'd gotten so attached to their son over the past few weeks that now he didn't want to leave him. It made her heart ache for him a little.

She smiled at him and placed her hands on his cheeks. "Honey, he's going to miss you too. But you'll see him in the morning, when you come home for dinner, and you'll have all evening with him when you come home. It's just going to take some getting used to." Jean reassured him.

Atticus smiled and gave her a quick kiss. "You always know what to say," he whispered in her ear.

"I do. Now, get going before I actually do have to drag you out of the house by your ear."

oOoOoOoOo

Any other morning little Jem would have been up and lying on his mother's shoulder by this point. However, Jean had left him lying contentedly in his crib so she could have a peaceful breakfast with her husband before he returned to work. Jem wasn't a boisterous baby, but he was prone to trying to grab at whatever was sitting on the kitchen table, sometimes succeeding in pushing them off onto the floor. Jem might have been guilty of breaking a few valuable pieces of crockery, but Jean still loved him more than life itself.

She smiled at the thought of her baby as she pushed the nursery door fully open, the sound of Jem's coos and gurgles greeting her as she approached his crib. Her son lay wriggling his arms and legs, happily staring up at the mobile hanging above him. His bright blue eyes immediately snapped to Jean as she peered over the edge.

"Hello, baby," she cooed at him. "Are you waiting for Mama? Are you waiting for Mama to come and give you breakfast?" She hoisted him into her arms, cradling him close to her and breathing in his scent. "Did you think Mama had forgotten about you? Oh, Mama couldn't forget about her baby, could she?" Jean continued to coo at him, settling him better in her arms and making her way to the kitchen where Cal remained cleaning up after breakfast.

"Got his bottle sittin' ready, Mrs Finch. It's warmed to just how he likes it and ready to go." She informed Jean, smiling and nodding towards the kitchen table. She gave Jem a wave of her fingers, causing him to let out a particularly loud gurgle.

"I couldn't get by without you, Cal, and that's the truth." Jean replied happily and sat herself down at the table. She honestly couldn't get by without Cal. Atticus had been fond of her when he still lived on the Landing, and insisted that she was the best option for giving them both some help while they adjusted to life with the baby. Once again he had been right; they couldn't get by without Cal.

She continued to throw little glances in Jean's direction as she tried to get a cloth around Jem's neck. Jem had spied his bottle the moment Jean had sat down at the table and had turned his head to glue his eyes to it, resulting in Jean having a little bit of difficulty.

"Baby, you'll get that bottle a lot quicker if you turn your head for me," she laughed, and finally succeeded in her task.

Looking up she saw Cal now leaning against the kitchen island shaking her head with a smile. "Lord, Mrs Finch, anyone would think you don't feed that child. He's going at that bottle like he hasn't been fed in weeks!" She laughed.

Jean glanced down at her son who was eagerly sucking his bottle, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on her. "He loves his food. He's just like his daddy," she replied, smiling impishly at Cal.

"Oh, now, you leave him alone, Mrs Finch." Cal laughed good-naturedly. "He sure thinks the world of that lil' boy. He's a proud papa, that's for sure." She had approached the table and smiled down at Jem, placing her forefinger in Jem's little fist and bouncing his hand up and down.

"I think it just about broke his heart going back to the office today. He told me he didn't want to leave," Jean replied.

"He's just gonna miss him, Mrs Finch. Jem's a lucky lil' boy to have a daddy like Mr Finch." She straightened as Jean sat Jem up on her knee to begin and take up his wind.

"Oh, he'll miss him alright. I feel sorry for any clients he has coming in because he's just going to have Jem on the brain. I was thinking I might take a lunch to him later and bring Jem, too. I think he'd like it." She smiled and looked at Cal who was at the island again. "And Cal, you don't have to call me Mrs Finch. I'd actually prefer it if you didn't because Atticus only calls me that when he's angry or teasing. You can call me Jean, I really don't mind."

As expected she saw Cal begin to shake her head. "No, ma'am, no I can't," she replied firmly, but she seemed to start thinking. "Tell you what, how 'bout I call you Miss Jean?" She said after a moment, smiling brightly at Jean.

Knowing it was as good as she was going to get, Jean nodded her head. "Miss Jean is fine, Cal. It doesn't make me feel quite so old." She gave a Cal a wink and stood with Jem in her arms. "So, I'm going to go and get this little rascal ready for the day, lay him back down to sleep for an hour or so, take a bath and then head downtown to see Atticus," she laid out her plans for Cal who nodded happily and so Jean let her get on with whatever she had to do.

She dressed Jem as quickly as she could, which was no easy task considering how much he liked to wriggle around and how much Jean enjoyed ticking his sides to hear his laughter, laid him down in his crib where he lay gurgling happily and drifting back off to sleep, and took herself through to the bathroom just off her bedroom to prepare herself for a nice long soak.

oOoOoOo

After a relaxing bath where she had been able to think of nothing but her son, Jean had gone to put together a lunch to take to Atticus only to find that Cal had already done it for her.

"Somethin' for me to do, Mrs…Miss Jean," Cal quickly corrected herself. "I put somethin' in there for you too incase you decide to stay with Mr Finch." She told her kindly and handed over the bag that contained Atticus' lunch.

Jean had thanked her and moved through to Jem's nursery to prepare his buggy and wake her son. Jem wasn't pleased about being woken from such a short nap, but quickly settled again when he was placed in the many blankets and wraps in his buggy. With Atticus' lunch in the pocket underneath, she told Cal she was leaving and set off with her son downtown.

Strolling down the streets with Jem was perhaps Jean's favourite way to pass the time. She enjoyed spending the time with her son, and she enjoyed the multitude of people she always met along the way who were always just dying to get a look at baby Jeremy. Being one of the only babies in town, Jem was quite popular with the whole town of Maycomb, and Jean was always more than happy to show him off. He was her pride and joy.

Today as she strolled along, the only person she came into contact with was Heck Tate who stopped to see the baby. He'd asked how she was following her recent illness and told her that when he met Atticus walking to the office this morning, he hadn't talked about anything other than his son. Jean had felt her heart fill with love for him and the fact that he so openly adored his son.

The rest of the journey to Atticus' office was a solitary one which Jean was secretly glad of; she was so excited to surprise her husband that she couldn't get there quick enough. As she arrived outside the frosted glass of his door, she wrapped professionally three times and listened to his booming voice grant her permission to enter.

"Surprise!" She called out as she entered, thankful that his new office was great deal bigger to allow her to comfortable fit the buggy in.

At his desk, Atticus sat with a bemused smile on his face at seeing his wife with their son. Had she told him she would be coming downtown today and he'd simply forgotten? "Jean, what are you doin' here?" He asked as he set his papers down.

Jean shrugged her shoulders. "You said you'd miss Jem, so I thought I'd bring him to you." She stated simply before stooping to retrieve his lunch from the bottom of the buggy. "And I brought you lunch incase you were too busy to come home."

Atticus shook his head and stood to cross his office and kiss her sweetly. "You are too good to me, my love." He then turned to the buggy where Jem lay peacefully watching them. "And there's daddy's little man!" He exclaimed and swung Jem into his arms, smiling as he started to gurgle at him. "Have you been good for Mama? I'm sure you have." He spoke softly to his son and moved back to sit in his chair while Jean followed and perched herself on his desk in front of him.

"You sure he won't be distracting you? Don't let him pick up anything breakable or he'll hurl it to the floor," Jean reached out to pick a glass paperweight out of Jem's reach as he whimpered in response.

"He's a welcome distraction. I've only been away from him for a few hours and I missed him. What are we going to be like when he leaves us for university?" Atticus' eyes twinkled at his wife as he started to bounce Jem up and down on his knee.

"I don't know about you, Mr Finch, but I'm hopin' to have a few more. Enough that we won't even notice when he's left for university." She winked at her husband who was now studying Jem intently.

"You know, I think he looks more like you than me," he observed, taking in Jem's young features.

"Thank heavens for small mercies," she continued to tease him and caused Atticus to raise an eyebrow at her.

"You're feeling very playful this mornin', Mrs Finch," he said, trying and failing to suppress the grin spreading across his face.

Jean shrugged her shoulders again and hopped off his desk to sit on the arm of his chair and place her arm around him. "I'm just happy," she said simply.

"Can I ask about what?" Atticus turned to her while he pulled Jem into his chest.

"Just with my life. I never thought things would turn out so good for me. I have you," She kissed his temple. "I have Jem." She reached down to kiss the top of her son's head. "And I'm just happy. You and Jem make me so happy. I just thought I'd let you know," she explained as Atticus rested Jem in the crook of his elbow and reached out to place his hand on her knee.

"You both make me happy, too. Unexplainably happy. Never forget that," Atticus replied tenderly.

"Mmmm." Jean murmured and turned her face to place a kiss into his hair. "I love you."

"I love you."

Cal had been right about Jean not making it back for dinner. Instead, she spent the entire afternoon with her husband and son in Atticus' office. She had her husband, she had her son and she was happy. Unexplainably happy.


End file.
